The TCA tour ain’t what it used to be. That’s the consensus in the hallways and lobby bars here at the Beverly Hilton where veteran critics pine openly about the good ol’days, the ones with lavish gifts, scrumptious meals, endless cocktail parties and, oh, yeah, celebrities. I guess I missed the heyday, but there’s no doubt that this is a makeshift tours with more free time than I can ever imagine. Not there’s not tons of stories to be had. But most in the TV business seems to be in low gear right now, waiting to see what happens next.

To fill time, more and more networks are not so much pushing new programs as they seem to be feeling the room out. Take the case of Starz’ “Spartacus.” The show doesn’t start filming until March in New Zealand and won’t air until fall - if it airs as all. Executive producer Rob Tapert was on hand and I asked him how much he could really tell us about a show that hasn’t even cast a lead yet.

“There’s a lot of other things to be afraid of, but not finding somebody in the next two and a half months to fill the Spartacus shoes is probably No. 7 or 8 on the list,” he said.

Really? It would seem to me that the actor filling Spartacus’s sandals would be huge ingredient to the success or failure of the show - and it baffles me that Starz would agree to a show without seeing who the big guy will be. I hope Tapert doesn’t share this philosophy at home. That’s because he’s married to Lucy Lawless, who played “Xena,” another show he produced.

Believe it or not, “Spongebob” is 10 years old. To celebrate the event, there will be 20 new episodes, a movie, a documentary and a special featuring Johnny Depp as the voice of Jack Kahuna Laguna. Can a theme restaurant be far behind?

Making travel plans? Take a tip from the “Girls Next Door” charter member Bridget Marquardt who will be hosting “Bridget’s Sexiest Beaches,” starting March 12, on Travel Channel. She was asked what’s her favorite beach to date:

“Dubrovnik, Croatia, has probably been the most amazing place we’ve been so far. I absolutely loved it there. It’s so beautiful, and it’s not like any other beaches. I just saw their pebbles and rocks and limestone, but the water is crystal clear. But it’s not your typical tropical beach where the water is turquoise and the sand is white and there’s palm trees. It’s that — it’s the Adriatic Sea. It’s very dark blue, but yet it’s crystal clear when you are standing in it because there’s no sand.” Book early.

If you love either the British or American version of “Life on Mars,” you won’t want to miss “Ashes to Ashes,” a sequel to the hit, which debuts on BBC America on March 7. In it, it’s a woman this time who finds herself beamed back to 1981 and she’s facing politically incorrect copper Gene Hunt, once again played by Philip Glenlister. The actor was asked what it’s like to see his character played by Harvey Keitel in the American version.

“I spoke to Harvey, and he was fantastic,” Glenlister said. “I turned into a bit of what we call a bit of lovey over here. And he asked me — can you believe Harvey Keitel asked me, ‘Any notes about playing Gene Hunt?’ And I said something very silly like, ‘Oh, just enjoy, Harvey. Just enjoy.’ And he promised that he would wear the white slip-on shoes as an homage to
me, which is one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever been paid, quite frankly.”Â

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.